Mechanical toothbrush



Filed Aug. 2, 1959 L-Eo/v JZJGEF Sm/mazes.

I r l I Patented 'July 21, 1942 UNITED S ATE PATENT 1 OFFICE TOOTHBRUSH" Leon J osef Steinberg, w ApplicationAugust 2, 1939,"Serial N0, 287,937

2 Claims (01/154221) f The invention refers to dental equipment and more particularly to manually held motor tooth brushes. It has among its objects'to provide a brush of this type which:

(a) Operates in the most hygienic manner;

(b) Operates in cooperation with the natural functions of the blood vessels, gums and parts of the mouth and teeth;

Has an action that will facilitate the removal of the material and substances injurious to the teeth in the most effective way;

(at) Has convenient form and design for the hand; e e

(e) Has mechanical features such that it can be used with motor equipment "of every nature designed to fit within the handle or shell;

(1) Is of as simple construction as possible;

(g) Enables it to be brought conveniently to the mouth without excessive interference with the other portions of the facial contour;

(h) Provides for proper alignment during operation and keeping it there definitely; e

(2') Has a form such that it may be more firmly pp d; I y

(7') Provides for the use of smaller bristle than customary; Y

(It) And has such other features that will add to the'in'trinsic value'of the article, improve its operation, and render it safe and suitable for domestic purposes. V

The usual type of motor brush invented has not-been found sufficiently practical to warrant its'manufacture, andhas'been limited in general to theconventi'onaljma'nner of brushing teeth; I e

The conventional method of brushingteeth is erratic as it follows directions opposing'the gen eral flow of the blood and against the grain of the teeth, gums and blood vessels, and results in in jury and unsatisfactory brushing of the teeth and muscles holding them. Toov'ercome these objections, applicant has constructed a tooth brush that is scientificallycorrect. It brushes the teeth in cooperationfw'ith the 'grain'of the muscles and nerves, and the recuperative flow of the blood. It definitely'cleans the particles of material from between the teeth and the encrustings'thattend to accumulate. The arrangement is" so natural and the operation'so smooth and agreeable that the user fin'ds'the use of the brush pleasurable, instead of being the objectionable task'that the usual way appears to make it, Arrangements are providedto keep the handling of the device sanitary and its parts clean' The action is made relatively slow that it maybe-safe against injury 'to the user; and also enable-the work to be more efficiently done. This is'made possible by designing the brush to fit into the m'outh in front of the greater surface of'the teeth, and byhaving the movement of the bristles of the brush such thatthey act vertically 'upand-down over the teeth and gums in cleansing same. The conventional method acts, across the teeth transversely; and does not clean out the cracks between same, while applicants device does. Thebrush is arranged with an offset that keeps the handle away "from the face, and the propelling' rod orshank is made rectangular to keep it definitely straight'and aligned.

In the drawin ;Whichillustrates an embodi-' ment of this invention? v I Figure 1 is a' side elevation of a embodying this invention, I

' Figure 2 is'a sectional View taken longitudinally through the tooth' 'brush'shown in Figure I,

' Figure '3 is a plan view of the tooth brush with tooth brush the safety cup removed, V

' Figure: 4, indicates 1 another brush implement usable in placeof that indicated in, the above figures, andthe possibility of changing same to suittheneeds," 1

Figure 5' is a modified form'of brush implement for special cleaning purposes, I

Figure 6 is another modifiedjform for'cleaning in between teeth and other particular uses.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the'drawing.

Inthe construction indicated in the drawing, l represents a hollow shell of some suitable mate rial like one of the many insulating'pla'stics' existing andavailable today. The shell is prefera-blyformedas indicated, of partially circular cross-section and tapered towards the ends, 2 and- 3-, respectively. The front surface portion 4 is fiattenedforthe purpose 'of' rendering it more agreeable to the" grasp of the hand; less obstructive to the contour. of the chin of the face, more stable for packing or resting on a shelf, andinteriorly works better for the motor base.

It is preferably made in three parts as indicated,"to' facilitate assembly and repairs. Its walls are relatively thin, and upper portion. 2 forms the: neck and is' of cylindrical form exteriorly. j The interior 5 of the neck is made rectangular in cro'ss'section, so as'to' guide a square propeller shank o r shaft G'in' a non-turning definitely aligned direction. This shank or shaft extends down into the's'h'ell through a square central'hole 8 in a cross-plate or partition 1, the

cable 38.

latter being connected with the inside surface 9 of the shell. A collar I is mounted rigidly on the shank or shaft above the plate 1 in contact with a coiled spring I l adapted to keep the shank or shaft in place. This spring serves as a com pression and extension spring. Its general function is primarily compression in order to bring the shank or shaft downwardly into the shell, and for this purpose, is suitably attached to the plate and the shank or shaft. Thus the spring resiliently biases shaft 6 to a central position about which it may reciprocate. An eccentric mechanism consisting of a reciprocable disc I2 is mounted on the end portion of the shank or shaft and has a cam block [3 mounted on its under surface. This cam block comes into contact with another cam block IS on another similar but rotative disc l4, spaced away from it and attached to the shaft l6, which is joumalled at I! on the interior of the shell. This disc is operated by an electrical motor l8, preferably operable ondirect or alternating current through a train of reduction gears IS on their shafts 20 and bearings 2|. The purpose of these gears is to have the speed of the brush made relatively slow. As the disc I4 revolves, its cam block 15 engages the block [3 and as the shank or shaft 6 cannot rotate, due to its square cross section and the square hole it passes through, it forces the reciprocable disc to lift up against the compression of the spring II, and then be lowered after the blocks pass by each other. This gives the shank or shaft 6 in sequence a reciprocating movement at every revolution of the disc l4, and one that is sudden and forceful. The effect on a brush 23 is likewise, and makes its brushing very effective. The brush is preferably attached to a shank 22 which has a projecting lock element 24 that fits into a passage 25- in the upper portion of the shank or shaft 6 and locks there. It will not come out or turn without special manipulation. The shank or shaft 6, where it projects from the neck 2, is made with an offset 26 that does not interfere with its travel, but brings it to a position in front of the shell and accessible to to replace the brush with bristles mounted on a suitable shank can be done as required or convenient. The bottom portion of the shell is provided with a screwed in-cap 21, as shown, and has an insulated passage 28 therein for an electric Thecable goes to the switch 39- and thence to the motor l8. i This motor is suitably mounted within the casing.- A protector double cup 29 preferably of soft rubber is secured to the shank or shaft 6, and comprises a form representing two caps placed back to back in a vertical plane so as to catch brushings and keep them off the shell and the hands of the user. The neck is provided with suitable gasket members 39 for keeping the shell water tight and the shaft 6 lubricated.

In Figure 4, the brush implement is made without bristles 36, provided in the original form, and is intended for dry brushing, as well as the massaging of the gums. It is made of rubber or the like and has a curved member 40 with rounded edges 4|, arranged tofit inthe oral cavity conveniently. In Figure 5, a-ball 5| is provided, and is preferably of rubber with bristles 36 projecting therefrom as shown. The ball permits the teeth to be cleaned in special ways as required from time to time. In Figure 6, the implement consists of a rectangular member 50, which has bristles 36 also projecting from it in every direction. This form has the advantage of being suitable for cleaning the teeth in between the cracks or edges leading to same. These forms also enable work to be done around bridgework and other types of dental work where the usual form of tooth brush would be undesirable.

While but one form of the invention is shown in the drawing, it is not desired to limit this application for patent, to this particular form, in any way, otherwise than limited by the prior art, as it is appreciated that other constructions could be used, that would employ the same principles and come within the scope of the appended claims.

I-lJaving thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1.' A mechanical tooth brush comprising in combination, a hollow shell adapted with an exterior surface for manual manipulation, said shell having a partition plate transversely across it interiorly and with one end portion restricted to form a stufiing-box-like passage therethrough, and its other end portion closed in, a shank for a tooth brush passing through the said passage into the casing and through the partition plate, a reciprocable disc mounted on the end 'portion of the shank inside the casing and spaced away fromthe said partition plate, a collar on the shank adjacent to the said first mentioned end portion, a spring on the shank mounted between the collar and upper side of the partition plate q with its respective ends fastened to the shank and the partition for tensioning the shank and its disc resiliently in position, a rotative motor within the casing and rigidly attached thereto, a mechanism for transmitting the rotative action of the motor to a point adjacent the said disc, a rotative disc mounted on the said mechanism and restrained from longitudinal movement with respect to the shell, means on the rotative disc adapted to engage the reciprocable disc in a predetermined manner for intermittently moving the same against and with the tension of the spring, and transmitting the movement to the shank for reciprocating same in an intermittent manner, and a brush on the shank outside the casing for cleaning teeth.

2. A mechanical tooth brush of the class described comprising in combination, a hollow shell adapted with an exterior surface for manual manipulation, said shell having a partition plate transversely across it interiorly and with one end portion restricted to form a stufiing-box-like passage therethrough, and its other end portion closed in, a shank of rectangular cross section for a tooth brush passing longitudinally through the said passage into the hollow portion of the casing and through the partition plate transversely, a reciprocable disc mounted on the end portion of the shank inside the casing and parallel to and spaced away from the said partition plate, a collar on the shank disposed adjacent to the said first mentioned end portion, a spring on the shank mounted between the collar and upper side of the partition plate with its respective ends fastened to the shank and the partition for tensioning the shank and its disc resiliently in position, said end portion first mentioned and the partition plate forming journals to support and guide the shank beyond both end portions of the spring, a rotative motor within the casing and rigidly attached thereto, a speed reduction mechin an intermittent manner, the rectangular shank being so arranged with regard to the stufling-box-like passage and the opening in the partition plate through which it passes as to be kept similarly aligned at all times, a brush on the shank outside the casing for cleaning teeth, and means on the shank adjacent to the brush for aligning the latter in a predetermined manner.

LEON J O'SEF STEINBERG. 

